Idea about barrel removal and temperature

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

I have seen in many cases that removing an original barrel from a mauser receiver can be extremely difficult if not impossible even using the proper tools.

In high school science and college physics I learned that metal expands with heat and contracts with cold temps being applied (like most compounds do)

using that knowledge and a bit of logic, will this work in theory and/or practice?

cool the barrel, then apply heat to the receiver, then using the proper tools attempt to unscrew the barrel.

how much hot and cold? any reasons why it would damage the receiver if done "properly"? would even extreme amounts be enough to break or just weaken rusted or stuck threads?

Has anyone ever seen this done or heard of this being done?

 

[kaferhaus]

Nothing new here.... smiths have been using judicious amounts of heat on the forward receiver ring for decades to get those frozen barrels loose.

do not use a torch, use a heat gun and keep it moving all around the receiver ring. If that doesn't work (and many times it doesn't) time to chuck it up in the lathe and cut the barrel just shy of the receiver. Once you get down to the thread diameter the barrel will screw out by hand.

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

Do smiths cool or freeze the barrel at the same time? how hot should I set my heat gun??

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Try a dead blow hammer on the action wrench. You may find you don't need to heat the receiver.

 

[kaferhaus]

Do smiths cool or freeze the barrel at the same time? how hot should I set my heat gun??

No freezing.... near impossible to freeze and heat at the same time.... I set my Milwaukee heat gun on high... I have a aluminum barrel vise that acts as a heat sink. I mount the receiver as close to the vise as possible and that helps draw some of the heat away from the barrel...

These days if it doesn't budge after 15-20 minutes of heating and trying I just chuck in the lathe... takes all of 5 minutes once you've got it trued up.

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

ok then. dead blow hammer to the action wrench. If it does not budge then comes the heat gun with more dead blows. If that doesn't work then here comes the lathe (my personal fav is my plasma cutter though)
Thanks

 

[HankC]

If that doesn't work (and many times it doesn't) time to chuck it up in the lathe and cut the barrel just shy of the receiver. Once you get down to the thread diameter the barrel will screw out by hand.

May not work with large ring mausers that have internal shoulders.

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

check out what this guy went through on his second mauser

http://www.ramanon.com/forum/showthread.php?43983-Custom-Mauser-Project

 

[kaferhaus]

May not work with large ring mausers that have internal shoulders.

I've done dozens of large ring mausers by the lathe method and it's worked on every one of them without fail... your mileage may vary.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

it's worked on every one of them without fail...

Which isn't to say it is garanteed to work on all of them. As HankC said the large ring has two load surfaces(as does the Turk K.Kale) and removing only the outer one may not always solve the problem(though it does cut it in half).

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

Good point JimmyRay

..what would your options be at that stage then?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I have a K.Kale with a semi-heavy barrel in .280 Remington that I really like. I bought the barrel off of Gunbroker.com. I don't remember what it cost though.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

what would your options be at that stage then?

Go with the heat gun....

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

LOL, not the plasma cutter?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Have you already tried to remove the barrel or just anticipating possible problems?

 

[rgt2beararms=notjustguns]

I believe the barrel will be difficult. just looking at that old gun makes me wary due to all that I have read so far, although I could just be seeing worst cases. To answer your question, No I have not attempted to remove anything yet. I want to be 100% sure that I am willing to commit to the project and why ruin a good piece of history if not?

 

[Sunray]

You have the right tools? A barrel vise and proper action wrench. And a solid bench. Makes a huge difference. Mind you, a barrel vise is kind of pricey for a one time job.

 

[NCsmitty]

I hang the barreled action with barrel down, and apply an ATF and Kroil mix to the inner threads for a couple days or more. It makes a big difference in the force required to break the barrel loose. I plug the chamber with a tapered dowel.
I've done several Turks, a M48 and a VZ-24 that way, and it works. You just need to allow the mix to penetrate.



NCsmitty

 

[Big Az Al]

I was taught

That mostly the war time mausers, but sometimes it ifts a comercial mauser,

That the factories used used large pneumatic wrenchs to fit the barrel into the action and torq it there.

to that end a good solid bench, an almost over size barrel vice, and a good action wrench that will with stand the proverbiel bigger hammer.

then applying the force of the hammer properly and no action will resist completely